Pinch-cock



Aug" 16, 1938. ORNBER ER 2,127,257

PINCH COCK Filed April 8, 1937 Patented Aug. 16, 1938 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE PINCH-COCK Illinois Application April 8, 1937, Serial No.135,733

1 Claim.

The invention relates to pinch-cocks for controlling flexible tubes usedfor the intermittent supplying of fluid, as in laboratory work.

As such cocks have heretofore been made, it

was necessary, in one type, to thread the tube through between the jaws,and in another, there was danger that it would escape from between themwhen the jaws were opened to permit the flow of the fluid.

The object of the invention is to provide, in a cock adapted to beapplied to a tube laterally, means for positively retaining the tubebetween the clamping jaws.

The invention is fully hereinafter described and is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a view of the cock inperspective;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the cock applied to a tube, thejaws of the cock being spread apart to permit the flow of fluid throughthe tube;

and

Fig. 3 is a similar View, but showing the tube closed by the springaction of the cock.

The cock is formed of a continuous strip or strand of material such asspring wire as shown. The strand is bent, midway of its ends, to form aclosed preferably circular loop Ill. After being crossed, as at l l inthe formation of the loop, the end portions of the strand are bent, asat l2 and 3o !3, approximately radially as to the loop, and folded backupon themselves, as at M and I5, to form a pair of jaws I6 and I! whichmay be of substantially equal lengths although the former is slightlylonger than the latter in order to form a 3.5 seat for the jaw ll whenthe cock is closed without a tube interposed between the jaws. Adjacentthe inner ends of the jaws, the ends of the strand are bent, each acrossthe opposing jaw, and thence forwardly as shown at l8 and I9, andpreferably 40 terminating in loops 20, 2|, which provide finger seats.

The transverse planes of the two jaws are normal to each other, that ofthe jaw l6 being perpendicular to the axis of the loop [0. The return ortop element of the jaw I6 is formed into a U-shaped retaining loop 22,adjacent the outer 5 end of the jaw, which normally extends between thetwo members of the jaw 11.

In applying the cock to a tube 23, the jaws are spread apart by thumband finger pressure upon the loops 2!], 2| as shown in Fig. 2,sufficiently to 10 withdraw the retaining loop 22 from the jaw I1, andthe tube is slipped past it to the position illustrated. Release ofpressure on the members l8 and I9 permits the closing of the jawstogether by the tendency of the loop to expand, thus com- 15 pressingthe tube as shown in Fig. 3.

To permit the flow of fluid the jaws are spread apart, the loop or tooth22, however, preventing the escape of the tube whatever may be its size.

I claim as my invention:

A pinch cock comprising a pair of jaws each having a tube-compressingarea intermediate its ends and having an outer free end, a springportion connecting the inner ends of the jaws urging the jaws together,a tube-retaining projection ex- 25 tending from one jaw toward the otherat a point between the free end and the tube-compressing area of thejaw, and a finger seat portion extending away from each jaw at a pointbetween its tube-compressing area and the spring connection whereby saidareas of the jaws may be separated to relieve compression on a tubebetween said areas, the length of each finger seat extension and thelength of the tube-retaining projection being so proportioned as topermit a tube to be introduced laterally from the free ends of the jaws,between the projection and the other jaw, and on to the tube-compressingareas when said areas are separated by pressing the free ends of thefinger seat portions toward each other.

CARL S. HORNBERGER.

